CHAPEL HILL — The Orange County Board of Commissioners heard a list
of criteria on which site selection for a transfer waste station
should be based from a consulting company at its meeting Monday night.

And among the “extremely important criteria” included environmental
justice considerations.

The commissioners had decided to put the transfer station on Eubanks
Road, but after protests from residents in that area who have for
decades put up with the stench and discomfort of living near the
landfill, the commissioners decided to reopen the search process.

The site on Eubanks Road has not been excluded from the list, and
under some of the recommended criteria it’s likely to be one of the
highest-ranking sites in terms of location and access to highways.

But other criteria, including environmental justice and proximity to
schools, parks and churches, could lower its ranking.

Consultants Olver, Inc., recommended ranking criteria as “very
important” — with a weight of 10 — to the following: a location
close to the central population district of Chapel Hill and Carrboro;
access to major transportation routes; a minimum of 25-acre parcel
size; whether the truck traffic from the site is compatible with
traffic in the area; and the size of the natural buffer.

After hearing about the importance of the 25-acre parcel size, the
question was raised as to the size of the site on Eubanks Road is. The
answer was four to five acres, but overall it is part of a 200-acre
parcel.

Published: June 17, 2008
CHAPEL HILL — Orange County Commissioners met Monday to work on
finding a location for a solid waste transfer station.

The facility will be a building where garbage trucks drop trash to be
gathered and shipped out of the county.

The board made a few changes to consultant recommendations, asking
that bicycle routes be considered earlier in the traffic analysis, and
that greater consideration be given to utility access and protected
watersheds.

Members of the public asked the board and consultants Olver Inc. about
emissions, environmental studies and the size of the site.